Open Access Policy

You can view the RCUK Policy on Open Access (PDF, 299KB), along with FAQs (PDF, 444KB) to help clarify the policy. The FAQs have been updated (April 2018) to remove outdated information or amend wording to more accurately reflect the policy itself. The changes are listed at the start of the document.

In order to help implement the policy, the research councils introduced (from April 2013) a new funding mechanism - a block grant to universities and eligible research organisations to cover the cost of article processing charges (APCs). Further information on the block grants, including reporting requirements and lists of previous awards, is available here.

The analysis of a 2017 survey on institutions’ progress with open access policies, commissioned by the former HEFCE, Jisc, the Wellcome Trust and the research councils, is available here.

2014 review

An independent review of the implementation of the RCUK Policy on Open Access, chaired by Professor Sir Bob Burgess, took place in 2014. This covered the first 16 months of the policy’s implementation: 1 April 2013 to 31 July 2014.

The review examined the implementation of the policy and its impact for higher education institutions, independent research organisations, learned societies and publishers, to ensure the policy is effective and provides clear guidance to the research community.